Le Vine returns to seat on Freehold council

BY CLARE MARIE CELANO
Staff Writer

Marc Le Vine Former Freehold Borough Councilman Marc Le Vine has been appointed to fill the Borough Council seat that became vacant on Sept. 19 when Michael Toubin stepped down from the governing body because he was moving out of town.

Freehold Borough Mayor Michael Wilson announced the appointment of Le Vine, 49, at the council’s Oct. 3 meeting. Le Vine served on the council from 1991-97 and was a member of the Republican Party.

The other candidates submitted by the Democratic municipal committee for the appointment were Stella Mayes and Luis DeLeon, both of whom presently serve on the Freehold Borough Board of Education.

Wilson said Le Vine is re-turning to the council as a Democrat, his original party affiliation, to serve as part of the “Wilson Team.”

Surrounded by his wife and family, Le Vine took the oath of office. He will serve the final year of Toubin’s current three-year term. The full term will be on the ballot in the November 2006 election.

Wilson said Le Vine previously served with dedication. The mayor said the borough is experiencing “interesting and difficult times.”

“As a governing body, it is not easy to make these decisions, but at this juncture in Freehold Borough we want someone with the experience that Marc obviously has. We’ve decided to put the good of the town ahead of party politics and we’ve done that,” Wilson said.

The mayor said Le Vine and the other council members seem to be on the same page regarding the major issues now confronting the borough. The new councilman joins Democrats Robert Crawford, Mike DiBenedetto, Sharon Shutzer, Kevin Coyne and Kevin Kane on the governing body.

In a touching speech, Wilson told the audience that Le Vine had been seriously ill (with early esophageal cancer) six months ago.

“He lay in the hospital not knowing whether he would live or die. It is fitting that he take the oath [of office] tonight at the beginning of Rosh Hashanah. This holy day means starting over — a new start. Marc has unfinished business to accomplish and God has given him a second chance to do this,” Wilson said.

The mayor recalled that although he and Le Vine were on “opposite sides of the table” when Le Vine previously served on the council, they “agreed on issues 90 percent of the time.”

“I don’t expect it to be any different now,” Wilson said, “but that’s the way it should be. You shouldn’t always agree 100 percent on everything. That’s government.”

Le Vine said he is most interested in serving the people of Freehold Borough.

“Actually, you will see very little change in the council person who left office eight years ago,” Le Vine said. “I’ve stayed very involved with the town since my last term ended and am up to date on most issues of the day. Certainly, in eight years I’ve grown more as a person. But the biggest change you’ll notice about me is the amount of gray in my hair. Otherwise, I expect to be the same hard-working, intense, results-oriented, easily accessible and always fair council person that I was during my past years of service to Freehold Borough. This is a job and I expect to do it well and in the best interests of all living here.”

Le Vine said that although the issues facing the town have not changed very much in the eight years he has been out of office, what has changed is the intensity of those issues, especially, in his words, “related to welcoming our town’s increasing immigration population.”

“Since we can’t effect national immigration reform from our seats in Borough Hall, we must work together to find new ways to peacefully co-exist with our newest neighbors while ensuring that no federal, state or local laws or ordinances are violated,” he said.

“We must continue our town’s forward progress and not allow it to become compromised in any way. We owe it to all of our residents to provide the necessary courage and leadership to guide our diverse town through the difficult challenges and the necessary growing pains we all face.

“In the end, we must emerge as one Freehold, made up of many different people from many different places and with many different dreams and walking together in lock step. What Freehold Borough will become is what we all decide to make of it,” the councilman said.

Le Vine resides on Barkalow Avenue with his wife, Betsy, and their sons, Steven, 24, and Sean, 19. He owns Integrity Consulting Associates, a human resources consulting firm based in Freehold Borough.

He is a past vice chairman of the New Jersey Employers Council. He founded and chaired the Transportation Management Association of the County of Monmouth, which matched area employers and employees with transportation services for low wage earning workers.

Le Vine has served on the Freehold Borough Human Relations Committee since its inception and is the founder and past chairman of Pressing Elected Officials to Protect our Living Environment (PEOPLE), a quality of life forum for borough residents.

He thanked God for this “moment in time” and said he believes he was “spared for a special purpose.”

“I will make sure that this additional time will benefit those I have been asked to serve, I will serve the council and dedicate my energy and my strengths and I will do no less than my very best,” Le Vine said.